


Where do you think you're going?

by rabiddog



Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Armin Arlert Needs a Hug, Armin Arlert angst, Armin Arlert whump, Armin Arlert-centric, Major Character Injury, Mild Gore, Titans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:54:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26861713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rabiddog/pseuds/rabiddog
Summary: Armin is writhing away, as fast as he can drag himself, but he knows it's to no avail.The titan is there, and Armin is a dead man crawling.
Relationships: Armin Arlert & Titan
Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956667
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Where do you think you're going?

Armin is struggling, his legs almost giving out on him as he crawls across the floor. Pain, bubbling, devious bolts of it lap at his skin like an overly-friendly dog. It’s a feeling he’s familiar with, but desperately wishes he wasn’t. 

His pain tolerance was little to none. Armin wasn’t like Eren, or Mikasa, who could easily fight on with a broken limb or a nasty gash to their sides. He just, he couldn’t handle it. Even the slightest paper cut from doing countless amounts of paperwork had him sniffling and going to ask Mikasa to help him cover it up. 

To put it bluntly, Armin was a wimp. He knew he was, and held the title above his head with a proud demeanor. It wasn’t something that he’d to shy away from, not after the amount of reassuring from Eren and Mikasa about how it was okay, and nothing to be ashamed of. 

Of course, it wasn’t fair to be afraid of everything, especially not in the times they were in, with titans looming behind every corner and backstabbers hiding in every wall. It wasn’t a good trait, and Armin knew that he should be trying to become stronger, more confident, instead of embracing his cry-baby faults, but still. He’d thought he’d have more time to venture into it; the blonde didn’t realize he’d be in a life-threatening situation so soon. 

“Please...” He bubbles desperately, his words coming out in a jumbled, choked mess as he continued to drag himself. Legs, thin and clothed, are dragging behind like broken pieces of fine china. Armin isn’t totally sure that they’re actually still there, and not just flattened messes smushed into the muddy ground. 

He’d only been trying to go out for a walk along the glade, wanting to experience the heat and sun for what it was. He hadn’t expected a titan to show up, having somehow found itself within the walls. Was there a breach? A hole in the ground it had shoved its way through? 

That was a thought that wouldn’t surprise Armin. He’d read a lot about the Bible; about hell and demons. He imagined titans as demons, nowadays, clawing their way up from hell with wide, stretched mouths and screaming throats. It had made sense to him then and made sense to him now - demons and titans; mirror images of each other, something that Armin couldn’t just dismiss. 

A hearty groan from behind had the blonde coming back from his wistful thoughts, a fresh wave of tears bubbling in his overly-blue eyes as he chanced a glance back. 

A titan, standing at a good 13 meters tall. Or, Armin imagined it would if it had stood up; instead, it was currently on its hands and knees, crawling slowly after Armin, a mimic of the boy who was desperately trying to get away. An abnormal, perhaps, his brain supplied from the way the titan seemed more interested in toying with the boy, at least for now. 

The creature had had its fun picking up Armin by the legs and squishing them until they were bloody messes, and now he was crawling after him? 

A heavy, choked sob caused a full-body shiver to run rampage through Armin’s shaking form. Why him? Why did he have to be the one who had been caught out by this curious, _curious_ titan? It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t it have been Mikasa, or Eren, or hell, even captain Levi? It wasn’t like Armin wanted them to get hurt, but they were so much stronger than Armin, he was sure they’d be able to fight for themselves. 

Armin was practically certain that they wouldn’t be crawling across the floor with desperate fingers and broken legs. The titan would already be dead if it were them. 

But of course, it wasn’t them, was it? It was Armin, and he knew, deep down in the hysteria of his mind and beating heart, that he wasn’t going to make it out of the situation alive. 

Another groan comes from behind him, it’s longer this time, more drawn out and repeated in parts, and Armin almost thinks it’s a laugh. It could be if titans had the ability to do that. No matter how abnormal or unique, not one titan could act out emotions other than rage, hunger, and curiosity. Hange would love to see this creature, Armin thought bitterly after a moment. 

The blonde gives another lurch forward on the dirty ground, his fingers digging into soft mud and trodden grass, tears rolling over flushed cheeks, and his chest was heaving. The pain resonating from his shredded lower limbs had mellowed out into a painless nothing. More of an ache, if anything. 

Was this his body’s way of saying goodbye? Of admitting defeat? Accepting he was a dead man? 

A choked whine left Armin at that, and he found himself slumping forwards on aching forearms. If his body had given up, what was stopping him from doing the same? He’d be useless without his legs anyway if he managed to somehow get out of the situation. He’d be confined to a bed all day, with nothing but a wooden ceiling to stare up at. That wasn’t the life he wanted to live, and he refused to go on any further. 

He was a wimp, even in death, Armin supposed with a quiet sob. He’d tried to be brave, tried to be somebody that Eren and the rest of the scouts could be proud of, but it was to no avail, apparently. Armin would forever be the weakest of the bunch, the runt of the litter. 

It had just been a waiting game to see how fast it took for the blonde to be taken out some way or another finally. 

“I’m sorry...” He whispered out, voice barely audible as long, thick fingers gripped at his waist and slowly drew him upwards. The world was spinning around him, bursts of color, filling his vision and flashes of memories sucked up the imagery of the bright world. 

Armin closed his eyes, and accepted the darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> CC: [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/rabiddogs)  
> Twitter: [Wilbyz](https://twitter.com/wiIbyz)


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